User reports are flooding WPCentral concerning a fresh Windows Phone 7.8 update, numbered 8860. TNW checked with Microsoft, and the company confirmed that the update cycle for Windows Phone 7.8 has been restarted. The company had halted the process following the surfacing several weeks past of a bug that ‘froze’ some Live Tiles.

Microsoft promised a fix to the issue in early March, stating that it had “identified a minor issue where some [Windows Phone] 7.8 tiles stop updating.” While Microsoft has not publicly or privately stated that the update fixes the Live Tile issue, TNW has learned seperately that it in fact does.

That Windows Phone 7.8 was having issues is not a cosmetic problem. Microsoft’s decision to move the Windows Phone platform to a shared Windows core meant that early Windows Phone 7 and 7.5 adopters were stuck in something of a digital culdesac, unable to update to Windows Phone 8; Microsoft built Windows Phone 7.8 to bring a grip of Windows Phone 8 features to those that couldn’t make the jump.

Therefore, to be left behind in terms of long term ability to upgrade, and then stuck with issues with your middle-fare was a bit much. Happily, Microsoft has been responsive, letting users know that they were aware of the issue, and working to get the update schedule back on track.

If you are on a Windows Phone 7.5 or 7.8 device, look for the 8860 update. But really, if you are going to stick with Windows Phone, it might be time to make the move to 8.